What are they waiting for? | Between the Lines Newsletter
The Wrap with Amy Remeikis
Fifty-three years ago, Gough Whitlam swept to power with the slogan ‘it’s time’.
Looking at this Labor government, you now have to wonder what are they waiting for?
It’s past time for fair tax reform. Past time for an end to fossil fuel expansion. Past time for the government to start governing for people, and not vested interests.
And yet, as we enter the last sitting week for the year (unless Labor gets its way on the environment laws, in which case the government will probably try and drag everyone back for one more sitting), with Labor walking away from gambling advertisement reforms recommended by the late Peta Murphy, we have to ask again, what is it Labor is waiting for?
The gambling reforms are a perfect example of how hesitant Labor is to use power. Because what does it have to lose? The public supports it. Unlike the under-16s social media ban, there is evidence it will reduce harm. There are a multitude of ways for Labor to address the roadblocks of free-to-air television and media suffering a loss of gambling ad revenue, including by putting a levy on the gambling companies which trade in people’s hope and addictions. But they won’t do it.
As policies go, it is a complete non-brainer. Who cares if the multi-billion-dollar gambling industry gets upset? Labor apparently, in a pattern that has seen Labor bow to the mining industry, industry-captured state leaders, the wealthy, the connected and the status quo. States need to stop spending so much money on public hospitals, but there is endless money for Aukus, an agreement that guarantees Australia diddly squat. No more extinctions under Labor’s watch, unless it’s in a ‘go’ zone for mining approvals cemented in environment ‘protection’ laws championed by the coal and gas industry. No one left behind, except for anyone living below the poverty line. A future made in Australia, while cutting more funding to the CSIRO than even the Abbott government.
Political commentator, Sean Kelly, a former advisor to Labor prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, writes in his Quarterly Essay, The Good Fight, “As a society, this means asking ourselves what the philosopher Michel Serres (writes Adam Phillips) said is the only modern question: what do we not want to know about ourselves? That is a question that Labor, too, should consider asking itself. What does it not want to know?”
It’s a good question. Because what is it that Labor wants to do with power? Why is it so afraid to use it in a way that benefits the nation as outlined in its own party platform? Voters have rejected the Coalition so strongly, that on the numbers Labor has already won the next election. It is almost unheard of for federal Labor to know it will hold power for close to a decade. Perhaps, given lessons of the past, you could forgive Labor for being hesitant in its first term, unsure of whether it had the currency to win a second term. But having not just won that second term, but seeing the Coalition vote crumble to historic lows with no sign of return (no matter how much Sussan Ley’s media team crow about how many media interviews she has done, that leadership, and party, is terminal) Labor has taken its social licence and seems intent on following the Liberals into irrelevancy.
Even when the swing was with Labor, it almost lost the seats of Bean and Fremantle and had to put on a darn good fight in other electorates, including Franklin. It is obviously vulnerable to independents on its left flank, which was the same warning the Liberal party received in 2019. The Liberal party didn’t heed those signs of voter frustration, lost as they were in winning the ‘miracle’ election and paid the price in 2022 and again in 2025. Where it goes from here is between the Liberals and whatever God they choose to worship. Labor seems just as determined to ignore voter frustration and continue down is path of not doing much of anything different to the Liberal party, except where it can make things worse, in its transformation into the ‘natural party of government’.
If being the natural party of government means not doing much of anything, then voters will change what the government looks like into something unnatural. Because what would Menzies have done with this power? What would Howard have done? Curtin? Chifley? Whitlam?
We’ll keep pressing the government for answers, thanks to your support. Because what is it they’re waiting for?
Take care of you.
A.
— Amy Remeikis is the Chief Political Analyst at The Australia Institute
The Big Stories
Australia Institute Press presents A time for Bravery
We are living at a critical point in history with the stubborn problems of rising inequality, rising fossil fuel production, and declining faith in democracy. This is a time for individuals, organisations, communities, and our elected representatives to find the bravery we need to not just acknowledge, but address, the challenges we face.
This book brings together advocates, politicians, campaigners, medical doctors, academics, and a firefighter each with their answer to the question: what does bravery look like in Australia and how might it reshape our future for the better.
Mike Rann: Gas lobby using “tobacco tactics” to keep polluting, tax breaks
Delivering The Australia Institute’s second annual Dr Hugh Saddler Memorial Lecture at the State Library of South Australia, former South Australian Premier and Chair of the UK Climate Group, the Hon Mike Rann AC CNZM, slammed the fossil fuel lobby’s grip on climate policy in the country.
“Australia’s continued approval of new and expanded coal mines and its massive embrace of a gas industry means Australia is often seen internationally as walking both sides of the street on climate,” Mr Rann said.
“Like The Australia Institute, I am appalled that multinational gas companies are making massive, multi-billion profits from exporting Australian resources while paying little or no tax. Fixing this could be a big, first step in the second term tax reform agenda of the Albanese Government.”
Australians believe universities are too expensive and not doing their job: polling
New polling shows most Australians, regardless of who they vote for, think most university degrees are too expensive.
Polling also found only 3% of Australians think making a profit should be a primary purpose of universities – however more than half believe that it currently is a primary purpose. Meanwhile, fewer than half of Australians believe educating students is currently a primary purpose of universities, despite 80% thinking it should be.
Leaked report undermines WA Premier’s claim that LNG exports help Asia’s clean energy transition
The Western Australian government’s claim that its domestic gas production is helping Asia’s clean energy transition has been undermined in a leaked report – which it commissioned.
The report states “… there are substantial risks that natural gas could crowd out investments in renewable technology or delay the broader adoption of renewable energy technologies.”
These revelations come two months after Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt granted final approval for Woodside to extend the life of its North West Shelf gas project until 2070, but the report was received by the WA government in January.
The Win
Mike Rann slams gas industry for ranking in billion-dollar profits
Former South Australian Premier and Chair of the UK Climate Group, the Hon Mike Rann AC CNCM, criticizes the fossil fuel lobby’s grip on climate policy in Australia. Delivering The Australia Institute’s annual Hugh Saddler Memorial Lecture, Mr Rann claimed that, for fossil fuel polluters, “gas has become the lifeline that vaping was for the tobacco lobby.”
The Bin
Coalition ditches net-zero by 2050 climate target
The Liberal Party has formally scrapped its 2050 net-zero emissions commitment, reversing a policy set under the Morrison government. It would also repeal Labor’s 2030 emissions-reduction legislation, while remaining in the Paris Agreement.
The Quote
“How many extra possums does it take to compensate for a dead platypus?”
– Dr Richard Denniss on Environment Minister Murray Watt’s new ‘environmental laws’
Podcasts
Mike Rann: how Albanese can leave a brave climate legacy | Follow the Money
With brave climate leadership, says former South Australian Premier Mike Rann, Anthony Albanese could leave a lasting legacy similar to Bob Hawke with Medicare, Paul Keating with compulsory superannuation and Kevin Rudd with the apology to the Stolen Generations.
Listen now:
The gas industry’s “huge con” | Dollars & Sense
On this special episode of Dollars & Sense, Liam O’Brien from the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Dr Ingrid Burfurd from The Superpower Institute join Dr Richard Denniss to discuss taxing the gas industry more effectively.
Listen now:
“Anti-achievement” Democrats let pressure off Trump | After America
Crikey’s Charlie Lewis joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss Congress’ failure to extend life-saving health insurance tax credits and whether there is evidence of US involvement in the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.
Listen now:
What’s On
Policy School – How to make a parliamentary submission and appear at an inquiry
Thursday, 27 November | Online
Every year, Australian parliaments hold hundreds of inquiries on everything from health policy and environmental protection to the government is using consultants, the use of AI or how well the election was run. Politicians want to hear from you, but not everyone realises how easy it is to make a submission.
Hosted by Bill Browne and Dr Alice Grundy, this special, one-off Policy School is a guide on how to make an effective submission and give evidence before a committee, based on The Australia Institute’s experience participating in dozens of parliamentary inquiries.
On belief in politics with Sean Kelly
Friday, 28 November | Online
Join journalist Sean Kelly discussing his new book, On belief in politics. In Quarterly Essay 100, Sean Kelly considers the strange transitional moment we are in. We seem sick of neoliberalism but afraid of what might replace it. We are obsessed with work but resentful of it; desperate for community but stuck inside our phones; protective of our way of life while wanting to change everything.
With vividness and insight, Kelly diagnoses the state of the nation and the prospects for change and renewal. He argues that the end of ideology may yet offer hope for a new politics. As the prime minister promotes a new nationalism, could Australia show other countries the way forward?
The Right Hand with Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks
Friday, 12 December | Online
Join author and Missing Perspectives founder Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks as she presents The Right Hand, her new book featuring in-depth conversations with the chiefs of staff behind many of the era’s most defining presidents and prime ministers.
We all know the names: Jacinda Ardern, Kamala Harris, Tony Blair, Justin Trudeau, John Howard, Sanna Marin, Nelson Mandela and Julia Gillard. But what about the people standing just behind them?
In this book, some of the world’s most powerful chiefs of staff open up about leadership, loyalty, power and pressure. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be in the highest corridors of power, this is your all-access pass.
Between the Lines Newsletter
The biggest stories and the best analysis from the team at the Australia Institute, delivered to your inbox every fortnight.